A/N: Sorry for the long delay in updating- real life took some crazy turns the last few months x_x Anyways, I don't know if anyone caught the little similarities in father and son in the last chapters, lol. I'll sneak some more things in and see if anyone catches it ;} Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and told me to update! This chapter has a lot of conversation in it, but it's necessary this time to set up the future chapters =w=;;
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, and all the usual garbage.
Chapter 5
A loud, unexpected noise exploded through the kitchen as Nero watched his supposed father lunge for him. It took a few seconds to realize it was a gunshot, the realization coming when the force of the hit and the sheer surprise of it caused the elder devil to be blown backwards. Vergil landed hard on his back, the wind clearly being knocked out of him if the uncomfortable wheezing sound he was making now was anything to go by. Dante didn't hesitate to pounce on his brother and hold him down while barking over his shoulder for Nero to take Kyrie away.
Lady brushed past the pair of teenagers, echoing Dante's orders as she gave Nero's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. From what the youngest hunter could see, it looked like Vergil had only been hit in the shoulder area, nothing super vital. Nero gave her a silent nod in agreement and thanks, and quietly pulled Kyrie with him back to the living room and out the front door. He didn't stop until they were both seated on the front steps to the shop, well away from the commotion inside.
"Well… that went great," Nero snorted loudly and shook his head. "First time the guy sees me and he tries to rip my head off or something." He was doing his best to hide how freaked out he was, but it was tough. His first time meeting his birth father and it ended in gunshots and terror.
"Nero… I'm so sorry, the whole thing was my fault," Kyrie murmured softly as she wrung her hands together. "I startled him and set him off, I didn't mean to cause any trouble."
Nero shook his head and reached out to grasp one of her hands and give it a reassuring squeeze. Of course she would blame herself for something that she had nothing to do with.
"Nah, don't think that for one second, Kyrie," he gently scolded. "It wasn't about that. He was trying to get to me. I mean… Dante mentioned a little before about how much the guy loved Yamato. And like, he doesn't even know us, so I guess we shouldn't take it personally… but still. If he had hurt you, I would have killed him, family or not," Nero continued with a soft growl. "I guess I didn't expect him to have some sort of freak sword-radar for it or whatever the hell that was," he added with a shrug.
"Maybe because it was so important to him... he remembered everything about it. I don't know much about that sword, but I know it has some sort of special power. I suppose if he truly treasured it, it would feel like a part of him," Kyrie replied and squeezed Nero's hand in response. "Nero, please don't let this spoil your opinion of him. I don't think any of us can actually imagine what he's been through-and like you said, he doesn't know who we are… please, promise me you'll give it a real chance with him?" Kyrie prodded him hopefully. "If it doesn't work out, then okay, you'll still have me, Dante and Trish, and Lady too, but I think this could be something wonderful for you."
Nero sighed loudly and nodded his head in agreement. He really wouldn't stand for Vergil attempting to hurt or even scare Kyrie, but deep down inside he didn't want to miss out on this opportunity either. He would never jeopardize Kyrie for the chance to have some sort of relationship with Vergil though, there was no question about that. Tonight's events didn't exactly inspire confidence in the teen that there would be anything there between them when all was said and done-the guy seemed unstable at best, and he wasn't up for dealing with it if things fell apart like this again before they even got started.
"I'll try, I promise," the teen conceded and pecked Kyrie on the cheek. "But if he doesn't want any part of it, or if he does some shit to endanger you or something… I'm out, and I mean it. I don't care if he's my father- I won't stand for him hurting you. I've lived this long without the guy, it's not like I'll be missing out on too much else," Nero huffed. "But I'll give it a shot, as long as he chills the hell out."
"I have a good feeling about this," Kyrie hummed and leaned against him. The tender moment was somewhat ruined by the rising shouts from inside of the shop and another gunshot, but both of them managed to mostly ignore it, lest they ruin the somewhat stable atmosphere they'd created. "I suppose we can just stay out here until things calm down inside though, just to make it easier on everyone," Kyrie added with a small, nervous laugh.
Nero nodded his agreement and rested his hand over Blue Rose's holster, just in case.
Vergil could definitely say things were not going his way tonight. It took everything he had to make it down the steps for food, only to be ambushed before he could eat anything. That damned light was like hellfire in his eyes even no after a few days of being free from the demon realm. Then, as if that pain wasn't bad enough, someone decided to shoot him. None of that compared to the real issue here though: his sword.
There weren't many things in Vergil's life that he held dear. Family was a sore subject on many fronts for the half devil, but there were some positives. As for material possessions, he didn't care for much. His amulet was one thing that he cherished, and the devastation of not knowing where it was right now was a terrible burden as it was.
The other item that Vergil loved above all other things he had ever owned was his sword. His precious Yamato. He knew that was gone, broken and abandoned during his entrapment in Hell. If he'd had his way he'd have clung onto the pieces until he died, but things just didn't work out like that. Vergil had rightly believed he would never see it again, so imagine his surprise and confusion when he felt his weapon so close to him. It had startled him at first, just how clearly he felt it, but the pull of the dark blade was undeniable. What was even more confusing to the devil was where the feeling was coming from.
Vergil didn't recognize the boy, but between the two occupants of the doorway, the sword's energy was practically pulsing off of him and waving a big red flag for him to see. Vergil felt a sort of madness overtake him, a mania he hadn't quite expected when exposed to the possibility that he might reclaim Yamato. His life had literally been a living hell for most of his life at this point, and even after awakening in Dante's care he hadn't held out much hope for anything positive, save for being mostly-alive at the moment. Something snapped in him, and he made a desperate attempt to right something wrong in his life- he just hadn't been planning on getting shot.
It took several more minutes of wrestling Dante and being pinned by the other man for Vergil to regain some of his wits about him. The pain from the bullet was mostly gone, and now he was just exhausted and sore from the fighting on the floor in his weakened state. In all honesty, Vergil couldn't say he was even mad at Lady for shooting him, it was the smartest thing to do, because he probably would have torn that boy apart if he didn't get his sword. He barely felt any calmer though even after the apparent teenagers had left the kitchen, but luckily for everyone he was too tired to keep struggling.
"Are you gonna chill the hell out, or are we gonna have to knock you out and chain you to the wall?" Dante grumbled as he continued to pin the older twin down to the floor by laying his whole body on top of Vergil's back.
"That was my sword, I know it was!" Vergil hissed and tried to wriggle free from his brother's dead weight on him. "It was Yamato! That's MINE," he growled and tried to elbow Dante as best he could, even though he couldn't reach.
"I'm serious Vergil, if you don't settle down and stop freaking out like a fucking psycho, I'm gonna have Lady plant one in your other side!" Dante threatened, knowing full-well that Lady would be more than happy to help. Said huntress gave Vergil a warning glare from the doorway to confirm it.
Vergil grumbled loudly and flailed a little more before he finally gave up and sank limply against the tiled floor. This was getting him nowhere and he really didn't feel like getting shot again.
"That's better. Now… I'm gonna let you up, but first we're gonna have to have some ground rules, got it?" the younger twin asked and poked his brother on the back of the head. "Otherwise you ain't goin' anywhere."
"Fine," Vergil snarled and tried to swat at the poking finger.
"Okay, good. First up: If I let you up and you try to go all crazy again, we're going to tie your ass up, guaranteed," Dante threatened and jabbed Vergil with his finger again. "Second: Yamato is OFF LIMITS- and shut up before you try to argue," he added when Vergil made a noise of disagreement. "No one is trying to keep it from you, okay bro? I promise, if you really want your sword back then I'll do whatever I can to get it to you. But there's a lot of stuff going on that you don't know shit about, so just do us all, especially yourself, a favor, and stop going all rage-mode about it. Nothing bad has happened to it, it's perfectly safe," Dante explained, giving up the poking in favor of a more serious demeanor.
Vergil growled softly in response but he nodded his head. As much as he hated to admit it, Dante had been taking pretty good care of him, even despite their history together, and his twin was never one for malicious acts, so he supposed he could try and trust him this once. Granted, if Vergil noticed anything fishy going on then he wouldn't hesitate to break these little rules they were agreeing on.
"Okay, so… last major rule: You even think about hurting anyone here or doing any fucked up shit again, and I will personally send your ass back where you came from. I can't put my family through that,' Dante explained calmly but seriously. "You're my brother… I've wished for this for so long, for some chance to right the messed up shit that's gone on between us, but I won't tolerate you doing anything to the people I care about. Trish, Lady, the kid, and his girlfriend. You'll get to meet them officially later, and hopefully this time you won't try to maul them," he added with a small chuckle. "Are we in agreement?"
The elder twin mulled over what Dante told him for a few moments. Obviously these people were important if Dante was letting them stay in the shop, especially with Vergil himself upstairs, but maybe there was more to it than that. There was no harm in playing along for the time being. If things didn't work out then he would just retrieve his sword himself and be on his way once he was strong enough. He'd been alone this long anyways, what was a little more?
"Very well…" Vergil agreed and nodded his head. "I'll follow the rules, I promise," he snorted softly. He felt like he was a child being scolded by a parent, but his agreement finally got Dante to get off of him and stop crushing him to the floor.
"Awesome. Now… let's get you some food and then back to bed, I think that's enough excitement for one night, and plus, you look like shit and you're freaking everyone out," Dante snorted as he helped Vergil up from the floor. "You're gonna give us all nightmares."
Vergil did the adult thing and flipped his brother off as he hobbled to the counter and leaned against it. Luckily Dante took pity of him and fetched some fresh pieces of pizza and heated it up for him. At some point Lady had vanished, probably bored by the conversation, not that it really mattered to him now. The bullet wound had already mostly closed, thankfully, so Vergil cleaned himself up with some paper towels while waiting for the food. He ended up eating at the table in the dark with Dante, who suddenly decided that he was hungry too, and thankfully they didn't feel the need to speak about anything while they did so.
Vergil allowed Dante to help him back upstairs to the bathroom and then the bedroom. He couldn't help but to notice that the downstairs area was deserted, but he had thought he sensed Yamato nearby-possibly outside? The thought comforted him a little as he settled into the bed with a heavy sigh.
The elder twin had so many questions for his brother. Who were those two in the kitchen? They must be someone important if Dante didn't seem concerned about leaving Yamato with them. How long had he even been gone for? Yamato was definitely broken the last time he'd seen it, was it still like that? Also, that boy had white hair… Vergil wasn't sure but he thought maybe he'd had blue eyes as well. That was rather strange, and maybe he had imagined it, but one of the boy's arms had looked a little strange, but maybe it was some kind of gauntlet weapon?
Vergil didn't voice any of his questions just yet though- Dante had said he would explain and introduce them, and at the moment he couldn't seem to keep his eyes open. Tomorrow someone would be explaining everything, and hopefully returning Yamato. Vergil didn't think he had the energy yet to overtake anyone for the sword, but he would find a way if he had to.
Nero was starting to drift off as he leaned against Kyrie's shoulder. He was suddenly so exhausted, the stress of the last few days had caught up to him. Just when he was about to completely conk out, the front door of the shop swung open and startled him.
"Hey guys, the ice prince is upstairs in bed. He's been thoroughly warned and threatened, so it should be safe now. Plus he's probably asleep by now anyways," Dante called out from the doorway and motioned for them to come back in. "Come on, gotta get that beauty sleep, right kid?"
Nero flipped the elder man off and walked back inside with his arm draped loosely around Kyrie. Leave it to this idiot to joke about a serious matter like that. He barely remembered falling back onto the couch bed, but the last thought in his mind was that he was terrified about what would happen tomorrow when he woke up.
